Curriculum ideas for teachers, History, Intermediate division

c j 3 ) ^ ‘

Ministry
of

Education

Ontario

(MMjA _

Curriculum Ideas
for Teachers

1977

History

Intermediate

Division

The objectives set out for Canada’s Multicultural Her¬
itage may be achieved through different approaches to
content organization. This support document contains
three possible approaches: two (A and C) apply to Canada
as a whole, and one (B) focuses on a study of the local
community. Approaches A and C indicate two possible
ways of organizing a year’s course. Approach B provides
strategies to help students develop an understanding and
appreciation of the contributions of various cultural
groups to our Canadian heritage through a study of the
cultural reality of the local community.

Canada’s

Multicultural

Heritage

2

Approach A

Approach A was developed by:

Stewart Dicks, History Consultant , London Board
of Education

Julia Saint, Teacher, Central Peel Secondary School
(Brampton), Peel County Board of Education

John Bearcroft, Head of History, Eastview Second¬
ary School (Barrie), Simcoe County Board of Education
Shaaron Sheahan, Co-ordinator of Social Sciences,
Metropolitan Toronto Separate School Board

Rationale

Canada is a country made up of immigrants and their
descendants. Each group that came to Canada had its
special reasons for leaving its original home; each
brought its unique cultural heritage; each experienced
some form of cultural shock upon arrival; and each had
to overcome a particular set of difficulties in adapting to
the new environment. In short, each group altered the
existing culture in some way and was in turn altered by
the cultural and physical environments of Canada.

It is essential that Canadians of all national origins
be made aware of the cultural heritage of other immi¬
grant groups.

Principles of Organization

The course is chronological in character, and emphasizes
two aspects:

1. Waves of immigration

The following questions provide an organizational guide
in planning detailed unit investigations:

a) Why did the group come to Canada? (Investigate
push-pull factors.)

b) What cultural heritage did it bring?

c) How was the group’s culture changed? How did its
culture change other groups with which it came into
contact?

d) What difficulties did the group have to overcome?

e) What contributions did each group make to Canada?

2. Institutional roots

This theme focuses on those aspects of our culture that
have been preserved in our basic institutions (e.g., legal,
political, educational, religious, economic). These insti¬
tutions were established during the French and British
colonial periods, and have been partly transformed by
the Canadian experience.

This organization creates a framework that em¬
phasizes historical continuity, both in the Canadian sec¬
tions of the course and in the studies establishing the
roots of our culture outside of Canada.

3

Unit 1 Introduction

Focus of study

The purpose of the unit is to make students aware that
Canada is a land of immigrants.

Content

— student family tree

— statistical study of the ethnic origins of the class

— immigration to Canada by country of origin (Statistics
Canada)

— periods of immigration

Unit 2 Canada’s Original Peoples

Focus of study

Canada’s original peoples developed their culture in
response to the challenge of various environments in
North America. Their attitudes to the natural environ¬
ment have influenced our current attitudes to natural
resources.

Content

— origins; native legends; migration theories

— adaptation to natural environments

— relationship with nature

— attitudes to the land and natural resources

— a current ecological issue — e.g., MacKenzie Valley,
James Bay, Reed Paper

Unit 3 The French

Focus of study

The people of New France brought the institutions and
lifestyles of France with them, but were forced to adapt
these to the realities of the physical and cultural (i.e.,
native) environment of North America.

Content

- a review of certain aspects of life in New France:
government and law; social organization; economy;
lifestyle; the arts

- a study of French institutions and lifestyles in the Age
of Louis XIV in France

- an investigation of the extent to which New France
was a ‘carbon copy’ of the France of Louis XIV

Unit 4 British Conquest of New France (1759-1791)

Focus of study

The British conquest brought British institutions, life¬
styles, and people to New France. These were in turn
modified by the physical and cultural environment.

Content

In Canada: British Government Policy

— the Articles of Surrender, 1759

— Proclamation of 1763

— Quebec Act

— Constitutional Act of 1791 (in response to the im¬
migration of the United Empire Loyalists)

In Britain: Developments in the Tudor, Stuart, and Han¬
overian Periods

— parliament

— justice

— constitutional monarchy

— cabinet government

— growth of colonial empire

Unit 5 The British Agrarian and Industrial Revolutions
and the Great Migration of 1815-1850

Focus of study

The agrarian and industrial revolutions provided the
thrust for the first mass immigration to Canada from the
British Isles and western Europe. This wave of immi¬
grants populated Upper Canada and provided the base
for further expansion — demographic and technological.

Content

— the agrarian and industrial revolutions

— social and economic impact of the revolutions — a
cause for emigration (push factor)

— statistical study showing population growth in Canada
as a result of this immigration

— results for Canada: attitudes and values; technology;
settlement

Unit 6 Great Migration (1896-1914)

Focus of study

The second mass immigration to Canada involved a great
variety of cultural groups.

By studying a number of groups that took part in
this mass migration, students will be able to understand:

— the social, political, and economic pressures in Britain
and Europe that stimulated emigration;

— the Canadian government’s policies that encouraged
mass immigration to the Canadian West.

Content

Case studies of particular groups that took part in this
migration (e.g., Ukrainians, Jews, Chinese) using the
questions listed under Principles of Organization above.
Through these case studies students will be given an
opportunity to:

- appreciate the experience of immigration in human
terms;

- investigate the value systems of particular groups.

Unit 7 The Twenties

Focus of study

Among the many immigrant groups who have come to
Canada are those who left their homelands in order to
preserve a particular value system or way of life. The
First World War created many religious and political
refugee groups, a limited number of whom came to
Canada.

Content

Case studies showing:

— a religious group (e.g., Hutterites);

— a political refugee group (e.g., Ukrainians).

4

Unit 8 Post -World War II (A Synthesizing Unit)

Focus of study

Since World War II, well over four million immigrants
have come to Canada. This phase of immigration in¬
volved a much greater diversity of peoples and cultures
than the earlier movements. It is suggested that in this
unit students be given the opportunity to engage in inde¬
pendent or group study in order to investigate the roots
of their own culture or those of other students in the
class. Through such studies students will be given an
opportunity to:

a) improve investigative skills;

b) develop an appreciation of the multicultural reality
of contemporary Canada.

Content

— statistics of immigration since 1945

— origins of immigrants

— independent or group studies of selected groups of
immigrants. ( See also Approach B.)

Unit 9 Canadian Immigration Policy

Focus of study

The purpose of this unit, which centres on a critical
appraisal of Canada’s immigration policies since 1867, is
to help students clarify their attitudes towards our
present policies and the alternatives for the future.

Content

— historical development

— present policies

— proposed changes (Green Paper on Immigration)

Unit 10 Canada: A Multicultural Society

Focus of study

The purpose of this unit is to give students an opportu¬
nity to explore the advantages and disadvantages of
living in a multicultural society. Students should be en¬
couraged to consider the topic from a personal
standpoint (“Multiculturalism: What is it worth to me?”).

Content

— concept of multiculturalism as a modern approach to
dealing with cultural diversity which establishes each
group’s rights to cultural uniqueness, responsibilities for
cross-cultural understanding, and full participation in
building the Canada of the future

Approach B

Approach B was prepared by:

Reno Bertoia, History Chairman, Assumption High
School, Windsor Roman Catholic Separate School Board
Leone Hamilton, Head of History Department,
Bewating Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Sault Ste
Marie Board of Education

Claire Quinlan, Teacher, Queens ton Drive Public
School (Mississauga) , Peel County Board of Education

5

Introduction

This approach is based on the following objective set
forth in the Intermediate Division History guideline
{Canada’s Multicultural Heritage, p. 12):

— to develop an understanding and appreciation of the
contributions of various cultural groups to our Cana¬
dian heritage through a study of the cultural reality of
the local community.

Rationale

Each rural and urban community is composed of various
cultural groups. Each culture brings to the community a
unique heritage, lifestyle, and experience which, through
interaction, enriches and vitalizes the community. An
examination of the different cultures evident in the local
community will broaden students’ understanding of
Canada, as each community is to a certain extent a re¬
flection of the larger national community.

Approach

The emphasis in this unit is on individual student re¬
search and the sharing of cultural experiences. Students
will interview men and women in the community, inter¬
pret records, and analyse documents in the process of
examining the cultural character and life of the
community.

Each student will investigate his/her own cultural
roots and communicate his/her findings and insights to
the other students in the class so that all students may
have the opportunity of sharing in the cultural expe¬
riences of the community.

As stated, each student is encouraged to research
his/her own cultural background. If, for personal
reasons, this is not possible, the student could investigate
a cultural group of his/her own preference.

This unit will be based largely upon resources such
as the following: the local newspaper(s); consuls,
embassies; ethnic clubs; community service board;

Canada Census; telephone directory; municipal and
church records.

Objectives

The student will be given the opportunity to:

1. examine the cultural roots of a community;

2. appreciate his/her own cultural heritage;

3. appreciate the contributions of various cultural
groups to the life of the community;

4. appreciate the distinctive qualities of various cultures
while recognizing the universal of the human
experience;

5. examine the cultural interaction within the
community;

6. develop awareness of prejudice and stereotyping;

7. research print and non-print materials, analyse data,
interpret documents, and further develop reading,
listening, and interviewing skills.

Content

Meaning of cultural heritage:

— definition of the terms mosaic and melting pot, con¬
ceptually and in the context of the community

Strategies

1 . Students discuss family possessions that have been
passed on from generation to generation — e.g., jewel¬
lery, grandfather clocks, family Bible, family photo
album.

2. Students create their own family heritage album {see
the Appendix for suggestions). Students later share this
information in groups.

3. Students create a map of the world on the bulletin
board. Using yarn, individual students connect their
community with the country of their ancestors. (Note:
The countries of origin of both male and female an¬
cestors should be located.)

4. Students analyse the data contained in Canada Cen¬
sus, the local voting list, and the telephone directory to
ascertain the cultural composition of the community.

5. Individual students or groups are assigned to des¬
ignated areas of the community to study the various cul¬
tures manifest in churches, shops, cemeteries, etc.

Content

The individual student’s country of origin:

— location

- economic, political, social, and religious conditions
that gave rise to emigration

Strategies

1. Individual students undertake a geographical study of
their place of origin.

2. They investigate the conditions that gave rise to
emigration.

3. Students role-play the following situation: two mem¬
bers of a family make a key decision about their future;
one decides to emigrate, the other to remain in his/her
homeland.

Key thoughts: What is being left behind, materially and
emotionally? What is to be gained materially?

4. Students make up the front page of a newspaper
illustrating reasons for immigration to Canada.

5. The class invites immigrants (e.g., political or religious
refugees) to talk about their background.

6

Content

Settlement and involvement in the community:

— reasons for locating in this particular community

— time line (years of immigration of particular cultural
groups)

— difficulties encountered upon arrival: employment;
accommodation; language; culture shock; prejudice;
stereotyping

Strategies

1. Students study immigrants’ letters to friends and
relatives back home giving information on the trip,
present location, etc.

2. Students conduct a neighbourhood or class survey on
ancestors and plot a graph showing the dates of arrival of
various groups to the community. Students then relate
these dates to events in the country of origin.

3. Students mark the areas of concentration of the cul¬
tural groups on a community map.

4. Students examine a map of the community and
identify resources, characteristics, and other potential
opportunities that might have attracted immigrants (e.g.,
types of industry, agriculture, business opportunities,
presence of certain cultural groups in the area, etc.).

In rural areas, students could trace the ownership of
farmland through township maps and deeds (these may
be available from the county registrar’s office), identify¬
ing the cultural background of the various owners.

Key questions: Does the original group still play a
dominant role in farming, or has the picture changed? Is
there a pattern in the changes of ownership? Can you
account for this? What conclusions may be drawn?

5. To motivate discussion, the teacher could show a film
such as Bill Cosby’s On Prejudice.

Class discusses the topic of prejudice with special refer¬
ence to:

— recent events in Ontario illustrating racial prejudice

— ethnic jokes

— stereotyping (what is a stereotype? what stereotyped
qualities are associated with different races?)

— discrimination (is there overt or covert discrimination
in your community?)

6. The class follows up with an investigation using news¬
papers, employment records, records of real estate sales,
and interviews with individuals of various ethnic
backgrounds (including British and French).

Content

Family structure:

— traditional roles, responsibilities of family members

— clash of values

— festivals

Strategies

1 . (a) Each student writes an analysis of the family

structure traditional in his/her culture of origin.

(b) Students make a collage depicting the various
family structures (roles, responsibilities of various family
members, etc.) described by members of the class.

(c) Students discuss family value issues (dating,
economics of household, male/female roles, etc.) with
reference to (a) or (b).

2. Students hold a Festival Week.

Day 1. Students bring in different types of food.

Day 2. Students bring in or wear traditional dress and
display folk art.

Day 3. Students bring in traditional instruments (man¬
dolin, bagpipes) and perform folk music and dances.
They may wish to record the music they perform.

Day 4. Students explain and read or recite (in English or
native language) poems, short stories, plays, limericks,
proverbs.

Day 5. Students and various members of the com¬
munity (invited by students) demonstrate native
customs, handicrafts (e.g., Ukrainian egg-colouring), etc.
Students should be encouraged to involve people from
the community in these festival days whenever possible.

Content

Involvement in economic life of community:

— types of employment (same as in country of origin?);
evidence of upward or downward mobility

Strategies

1 . Students conduct a survey (interviews, documents,
city directories, etc.) of various economic sectors -
industry, business, agriculture — to determine whether
there is a connection between type of employment and
country of origin. What patterns emerge from the survey
(i.e., do specific groups gravitate towards specific types
or Fields of employment)? What attitudes and values
emerge from this survey (e.g., work ethic, education,
thriftiness)?

2. Using the data collected, students classify the profes¬
sions (e.g., doctor, lawyer, dentist) into cultural groups.
Do specific groups seem to favour certain professions?

Content

Involvement in political life of the community:

— citizenship

— involvement in the three levels of government
Strategies

1 . Students devise a questionnaire to be answered by
first-generation immigrant relatives. The questions asked
should throw light on the following:

— Do most immigrants become citizens as soon as regula¬
tions allow? Are certain groups more eager to become
citizens than others? Are certain groups reluctant to
relinquish their original citizenship?

— Which groups tend to become involved in govern¬
ment? At what level (local, national)? Do they become
involved in political life through membership in a party?
Through awareness of issues?

7

Content

Religion:

— various faiths and sects; architecture (e.g., mosques,
synagogues, Eastern Orthodox churches)

— division of religious groups along cultural lines

— religious celebrations and different calendar years

Strategies

1. Students visit various churches, noting distinctive
architectural features (in notes, sketches, photographs).
They discuss their observations and consider the archi¬
tectural features noted as a reflection of the culture
concerned.

2. Students check church directories.

3. Students and people from the community explain the
different religious celebrations (e.g., Bar Mitzvah).

Content

Local personalities , synthesis

Strategies

1. Students write a biography of a friend or relative.

2. Students invite a member of the community into the
classroom to talk about his/her life and ancestry.

3. Is your community a mosaic or a melting pot?

APPENDIX

Family Heritage Album: Suggestions for Students
The Investigative Approach

As you set out in search of your ancestors, you become
a detective. You don’t need a lot of expensive equip¬
ment — just a notebook, a few pencils, an inquisitive
mind, and a willingness to ask questions and dig for
facts. Digging for ancestors is not merely a matter of
collecting names: you’re looking for more than “dry
bones”. You will find yourself in strange places, perhaps
in a society whose customs and laws are very strange to
you. You will learn more about the achievements, prob¬
lems, dreams, and aspirations of your ancestors. As your
ancestors become “flesh and blood” to you, you will
understand more of your “family traditions”, of your
family’s contribution to society, and of your own
unique position within this family. You may also be¬
come more aware of the contributions that your an¬
cestors and other ethnic groups have made to Canadian
society.

First, talk to your parents: When were they born?
Where were they born? Then go on to the relatives who
live within calling distance. If any of your grandparents
are alive, they are a good place to begin.

In talking to your relatives, ask such questions as
the following:

1 . Who were your parents? When were they born? Where
were they born? (A family Bible can be very useful here.
Watch nicknames; for instance, “Patty” may be a nick¬
name not only for Patricia but also for such names as
Martha and Patience.)

2. What was life like when you were young? What did
you do for fun? What was school like? What did you do

to help your parents? How did you decide what career
you would follow?

3. What changes have there been in your lifestyle since
you were about twenty-one years old? How much of this
change has been brought about by (a) personal aspira¬
tions, (b) technological change (inventions), (c) develop¬
ments in the community, (d) changes in government,

(e) war, etc.?

4. If the relative whom you are interviewing has children
and grandchildren, ask how the children were named and
why.

Listen for anecdotes, family traditions, etc., in talk¬
ing to your relatives.

Family papers and possessions

Ask to see family papers and possessions, remembering
that these possessions are probably very precious to the
person who has them in his/her keeping. Your resources
may be very limited; what should you look for?

1 . Ask to see the family Bible. The Bible may contain
written records of births, marriages, and deaths. Some
families slip important newspaper clippings concerning
the family into the Bible. (Write any information you
may find in your notebook — do not remove anything
from the Bible.)

2. Ask to see the family pictures. Note fashions, hair
styles, etc. Did men wear their hair long or short? Did
they have beards? Look for prominent family charac¬
teristics (for example, shape of nose, shape of face,
stature).

3. Ask about family heirlooms. How old is the grand¬
father clock? Where did it come from? Are there any
dishes or ornaments that are old?

Odds and ends

— Remember that some religious orders use the Julian
calendar, so you may find “double dates” of birth in
the month of January.

— In the seventeenth century a stepchild was quite often
called a son-in-law or daughter-in-law. “Brother” may
mean “blood brother”, “brother-in-law”, or “step¬
brother”.

— You may discover that your family has a coat of arms.

— The general span between one generation and the next
is 25-30 years.

— Most surnames are derived from names of places or
occupations. For instance, John Atwood is “John who
lived at or by the wood”. Chandler derives from
candlemaker. The French preposition “de” means
“of”.

— If you wish to search for information in foreign coun¬
tries, you might try writing to the embassy of the
country. They all have offices in Ottawa. The British
Travel Association (336 Madison Ave., New York 17,
N.Y.) has a pamphlet entitled “Tracing Your An¬
cestors in Britain”. The Norwegian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Office of Cultural Relations, has a
pamphlet entitled “How to Trace Your Ancestors in
Norway”. The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
Press and Information Service, has a pamphlet entitled
“Finding Your Forefathers”.

8

Approach C

Approach C was developed by:

Jim Clemens, Education Officer, Curriculum
Branch, Ministry of Education

Richard Kosty, Head of History, Tilbury District
High School, Kent County Board of Education

Judith Brown, History Teacher, Sarnia Central Colle¬
giate Institute, Lambton County Board of Education
James Ewing, Head of Social Science, Timothy
Eaton Secondary School, Scarborough Board of
Education

Courses developed from Canada’s Multicultural Heritage
should provide opportunities for students to examine
the roots of Canada’s cultural heritage. An analogy may
be helpful in developing an understanding of the mean¬
ing of each of these four words. Canada’s cultural her¬
itage may be seen as a tree with many roots and
branches: the branches represent the various aspect of
our heritage — our political system, our legal system,
technology, the arts, and lifestyles; the roots represent
the origins of these aspects — for example, our legal
systems may be traced to Britain and France.

While it is important that students consider the tree
and its particular branches, it is even more important
that they examine the roots of the tree. These roots lead
to many places, both within the country and abroad. It
is the teacher’s task to provide learning experiences that
allow students to trace the roots of particular aspects of
our heritage.

One approach to developing a course would be to
design a unit for each of the topics represented by the
branches of the tree. Such a course would contain the
following major unit topics: political institutions, legal
institutions, lifestyles, the arts, technology. The object
of each unit developed from one of the above topics
would be to establish the situation as it now exists and
then search out the roots of the situation — the ideas,
circumstances, and events that led to the situation. For
example, a unit based on political institutions could
first briefly review our parliamentary system and then
search for the roots of tins system in the history of
Great Britain. Similarly, a unit based on legal institutions
would establish the situation as it now exists and then
trace the circumstances and events that led to this situa¬
tion to historical developments in Britain, France, and
New France. Units built on the arts, lifestyles, or on
technology would again establish the situation as it now
exists and then attempt to search out the roots of the
situation in the arts or lifestyles or technology — past
and present — of the British, the French, and of Cana¬
da’s original peoples, as well as of any other group that
may have made a national contribution to the particular
development under consideration.

A course using this approach would thus have five
units — or possibly four, as the units on political and
legal institutions could be combined. It would be con¬
cerned primarily with identifying the contributions of
the English, the French, and Canada’s original peoples
to the culture of Canada. In addition, teachers may wish
to examine contributions made by other groups. Any
approach to the course must, of course, include a study
of the contribution of the cultural groups present in the
local community.

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